Tips for Teaching Responsibility to a Child

Responsibility is as important to teach your child as reading, writing, and arithmetic. When raising a child there are many lifelong skills that are important for them to learn.

Responsibility is important to teach a child.

Recently I had a visit with a man that is 90 years old. He made the comment when raising his children one of the mistakes he made was not teaching his child how to work. He stated, “It was easier to do the job myself.”

He made this mistake with one of his children he admitted. To this day the child is still struggling to be a self-starter and accomplish jobs and work.

Eat the frog first

Let’s face it in life there are things that need to be done. Some chores we really don’t mind doing but some chores we really do not want to do. Sometimes you just have to dive in and get it the work done. In other words, eat the frog first. Complete the chore you are putting off first and just cross it off of the list, so you can move on to the next task.

I am not an expert on this matter but I have a few tips that may help if you are struggling with a child.

Ideas on assigning chores

It is important to give chores that are age appropriate.

Give chores the child can complete in a reasonable amount of time that matches their attention span.

Use this experience as a time to teach.

Doing chores with a child will not only teach but can also create a good bonding experience for you and your child. It is important the child learns how to do the task but also how to do the task on their own.

Teaching your child to work can be enjoyable for you as a parent and for your child. When working together time can be enjoyed together. Besides when you teach your child to help out, life becomes a little easier for you and everyone else.

Working together

There are a few things to consider while working together.

Consistency is important when working with children.

Children need guidelines and rules and depend on you to teach them.

Even though you may want the child to do things perfectly, it is important to appreciate a job completed to the best of their abilities.

Show appreciation and gratitude for their help.

Tell them when they have done a good job.

Teach a job worth doing is worth doing right.

Recently I told my 4-year-old granddaughter you just need to make the chore fun even if you really don’t want to do it. Needless to say, that statement came back to bite me later when she repeated it to me. Kids you gotta love em!! But she has been enjoying the work just a little bit more.

I feel that chores are important for the growth and development of a child. After all, you aren’t raising a child, you are preparing a child to become an adult. It is your job to teach so the child will be ready and prepared for life.

Help build confidence

Teaching a child to do chores gives them a sense of belonging and accomplishment. It helps the child feel like a family member and their contribution is important.

When doing morning and afternoon chores, one of my granddaughter’s chores is to feed the cats. Not only is she learning to help complete the chore, but she is also learning to care for something besides herself. She is learning the importance of caring for a live animal, needless to say, she enjoys this chore very much.

She is not always here to help, but when she is chores is one of her favorite things to do. I think one of the reasons she enjoys it so much she gets to do them with me. She learns while we work together. (Yes I could have chores done quicker without her help, but I love the time we spend together.)

Teach by example

It is also important to be an example for your child. Show them how to do the job and tell them what your expectations are. You can’t expect perfection from the child, but you can expect them to complete the task. If the child is not shown what is expected, it is hard for them to know how to complete the chore.

Now that you have been given a little time to think about it, do you think age-appropriate chores are important for a child? I would love to hear what you think. Please leave comments below. And don’t forget to share with someone you care about.